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One widespread belief suggests that in certain earlier periods of human existence, females had similar status to men, or perhaps dominated, leading to happier and more peaceful societies. Then, male-dominated systems emerged, bringing ages of conflict and oppression.

The Origins of the Gender System Debate

The idea of matriarchy and patriarchy as polar opposites—following a sudden transition between them—originated in the 1800s through Marxist theory, influencing anthropological studies with limited proof. From there, it spread into public consciousness.

Anthropologists, however, were often less convinced. They observed great diversity in sex roles across cultures, including contemporary and past ones, and many theorized that this variety had been the standard in prehistory too. Confirming this was difficult, partly because determining physical sex—not to mention gender—frequently proved tricky in old skeletons. Then around two decades back, that changed.

A Revolution in Ancient DNA

This so-called genomics era—the ability to recover DNA from old remains and analyse it—meant that suddenly it was feasible to identify the gender of long-dead people and to trace their family connections. The chemical makeup of their skeletal remains—specifically, the proportion of isotopes found there—indicated whether they had lived in different locations and undergone dietary changes. The picture emerging thanks to these new tools indicates that diversity in sex roles was absolutely the rule in ancient eras, and that there was no definite watershed when a particular model yielded to its opposite.

Theories on the Rise of Patriarchal Systems

The Marxist theory, in fact credited to Engels, suggested that humans were equal until farming spread from the Near East approximately ten millennia back. Accompanying the more sedentary lifestyle and accumulation of resources that agriculture introduced arose the need to protect that wealth and to set laws for its succession. As communities expanded, men took over the leading groups that formed to coordinate these affairs, in part because they were more skilled at warfare, and wealth passed to the paternal lineage. Male kin were additionally inclined to stay put, with their female mates relocating to live with them. Women’s subordination was frequently a consequence of these shifts.

An alternative theory, proposed by archaeologist Marija Gimbutas in the mid-20th century, held that female-oriented societies prevailed for an extended period in Europe—until five millennia back—after which they were overthrown by arriving, patriarchal nomads from the steppe.

Evidence of Matrilineal Societies

Matrilinearity (where wealth is inherited through the female line) and matrilocality (where female kin stay together) often co-occur, and each are associated with greater women’s standing and influence. In recent years, American scientists reported that for more than three centuries during the 900s AD, an elite matrilineal group lived in Chaco Canyon, in what is now the southwestern U.S.. Later, this June, Chinese experts reported a matrilineal agricultural community that flourished for a comparable duration in China’s east, more than 3,000 years earlier. These findings join others, implying that matrilineal societies have been present on every inhabited continents, at least from the advent of farming on.

Power and Autonomy in Prehistoric Societies

But, though they enjoy greater status, females in matrilineal societies don’t necessarily make decisions. That generally stays the domain of men—just of women’s brothers instead of their husbands. And since ancient DNA and isotopes don’t reveal a great deal about female agency, gender power relations in prehistory continue to be a matter of discussion. Indeed, this line of work has forced scholars to consider what they mean by power. If the wife of a king influenced his court via support and informal networks, and his decisions by advice, did she hold less influence than him?

Archaeologists know of multiple examples of pairs ruling jointly in the bronze age—the period after those nomads arrived in the continent—and subsequent historical records confirm to high-status women influencing decisions in such ways, across the globe. Perhaps they acted similarly in the distant past. Women exerting indirect influence in male-dominated societies could have existed before Homo sapiens. In his 2022 book about gender roles, Different, primatologist Frans de Waal described how an alpha female chimp, Mama, chose a replacement to the top male—who outranked her—with a gesture.

Elements Shaping Gender Relations

Lately something else has become clear. Although Engels was likely generally correct in linking wealth with patrilinearity, additional elements affected sex roles, too—such as how a community sustains itself. Recently, international researchers reported that traditionally female-line villages in Tibet have grown more gender-neutral over the last 70 years, as they transitioned from an farming-based system to a market-oriented one. Conflict also has a role. Although matrilocal and patrilocal societies are just as warlike, notes anthropologist a Yale expert, internal strife—as opposed to battles against an outside group—pushes societies towards male residence, because fighting groups prefer to have their male offspring nearby.

Women as Warriors and Authorities

At the same time, evidence is accumulating that women engaged in combat, pursued game and served as shamans in the distant past. No role or position has been barred to them in all times and places. And even if women leaders may have been rare, they haven’t been nonexistent. Recent ancient DNA findings from an Irish university show that there were at least pockets of female-line descent throughout Britain, when ancient groups dominated the island in the metal period. Combined with physical finds for women fighters and ancient accounts of female tribal chiefs, it looks as if Celtic women could exercise direct as well as soft power.

Contemporary Matrilineal Societies

Matrilineal societies still exist today—the Mosuo of China are one case, as are the a Native American tribe of the southwestern U.S., descendants of those ancient clans. These communities are dwindling, as state authorities assert their patriarchal influence, but they serve as reminders that certain extinct societies leaned closer to gender equality than numerous of our modern ones, and that every culture have the capacity to change.